4/25/14 10:02pm Equestrian Embassy, Earth
Celestia was lying in the plush purple covers of her bed on Earth, half asleep from making sure that everything was prepared for her return to Equestria. She was resting peacefully until she felt the unmistakable energy spike of an emergency beacon. The signature of the magic indicated it was the one given to Lyra Heartstrings in case of an emergency at the Gala. She strode across the marble floor, passing giant pillars of marble with flecks of gold, and opened the plain reinforced doors leading out to her guards and the stairwell to the lower levels of the Embassy.
“Captain Swift, there’s been an emergency that I must deal with.” Celestia informed the gold armored earth pony before she vanished in a white flash. Leaving two nervous guards to wonder what was so important that it required the Princess to leave in such a hurry.
In a meeting hall some 270 miles away where a human was approaching a trembling pony, a bright flash suddenly lit the room and forced the occupants to blink for a moment.
Celestia appeared between Senator Brent and Lyra, using the aftereffects of her teleportation to take stock of the situation. With how far these two were from the rest of the party; it was clear there was some kind of pursuit, albeit a very slow one by most standards. As she scanned the room, the other two ponies were spotted by some musical equipment with a few wires hanging out; looking terrified. The other humans looked curious as to what was going on.
The Royal Pony then took stock of the human. His posture confirmed he was trying to get a hold of Lyra; a look at his right hand confirmed that he was holding a gem of some sort that she could feel magic bleeding off of. The spell was a very simple recording magic that was near the end of its lifespan, but Celestia felt a counterpart near the ear of the unicorn behind her. It was clear that Lyra had tried bringing in a listening device to record conversations for later research, but she had expected the researcher to show better judgment. But she will be punished for that later. Celestia concluded and decided to make sure this would never happen again.
As Brent’s eyes began to clear, he looked back towards his prey only to stare face to face with the ruler of Equestria. “You have no right to assault my little ponies, Brent.”
He sneered and held up the gem. “Like hell, they were spying on us.”
“Vinyl was recording music for later use. Did you invite them only to throw baseless accusations about?”
“I never invited them to spy, their job was only to provide atmosphere.” He refuted.
So it was you who invited them. Celestia confirmed. But how did he know what to look for in a recording gem or even that there would be one. And how could he get so close to knowing how the portal was formed. Celestia was reminded of Brent’s interview shortly after her press release and his ‘speculation’ only the President was informed of. “If you expect relations to continue then you will treat my ponies with the rights and respect you would give any person. I have read your constitution and how your country was formed. That precludes them from search and seizure, and assault from baseless accusations. Unless you have proof.” She countered, knowing there wasn’t any.
“Those laws only work for humans.” Brent countered, going off the letter of the law. “And, you aren’t human. So don’t tell me what to do, Princess. You have very few rights here and those could easily be removed. We will not condone state sponsored espionage.”
Celestia kept from scoffing. “We will have the same rights as any other country.” She threatened, willing to turn it into an international, or the first interspecies, incident.
“On who’s land? Certainly not ours. We could easily bar you entry.” The disdain was clear in his voice.
“Don’t forget that we paid for that land.” Brent tried to interrupt but was stopped by the Princess. “And, it was approved by you.” Celestia takes one last look around the room, making sure to remember the different faces scattered about, sure that several of them were Brent’s supporters. “I will be filing formal charges with The Hague for attempted assault on diplomatic personnel with immunity.” And in a flash, Celestia, the three ponies, their musical equipment and the pink stone in Brent’s hand all vanished.
4/26/14 Equestrian Embassy, Earth
Celestia was back in the Embassy office setting up meetings and paperwork for the coming weeks. She decided to stay on Earth and make sure relations with other countries were firmly established. Her top priority was gaining entry into the United Nations so Equestrians would be guaranteed some protection when traveling. The process was made easier by the fact that the United States had sold Equestria the three mile plot of land in the Nevada desert and had officially recognized them as a nation in front of the world. Her next priority was to cement relations with Europe, which was also made easier by her treaty with the US. Celestia had also sent requests to Russia, India, and several other countries to open up relations, many of who were eager to start the process. China had sent over a request the previous week and seemed rather amicable.
Next, Celestia started filling out work orders to expand the runway and update their little runway, so that Equestria could receive and visit foreign diplomats with limited interference by the United States. The construction ponies estimated it would take about a month to construct the two mile long airstrip and a hanger for private planes; there likely wouldn’t be a need for anything bigger.
Rarity wasn’t too disappointed at being relegated to more minor jobs until Celestia made sure things were properly set up. It was mostly filing and double checking of paperwork; along with the added bonus of occasionally getting to work on dresses. The Ambassador was busy saying goodbye to her sister. Sweetie Belle was being escorted by Lyra back to Equestria to spend some time with friends and to finish healing mentally. And it was a way to keep Lyra out of further trouble after showing an incredible lack of decorum. Besides, if anything urgent came up communication could be achieved through the portal.
Lyra was standing with Sweetie Belle in a big grey room filled with computers and some large technical machines in the back. The few humans that normally manned the Earth side of the portal took the day off, which made it easier for the little foal to travel back home without having to see the creatures that now caused her nightmares. The hole in Sweetie’s left ear being a souvenir from her last run-in with a human three weeks prior. Lyra was to escort her to Sweet Apple Acres where she could spend time with her friends and get some counseling in a safe environment.
After dropping off Sweetie Belle, Lyra was to stay in Equestria until further notice. Lyra was saddened at having to leave, but understood why it was necessary. She, in one fell swoop had almost given the biggest detractor of Equestrian society all he needed to ruin what peace did exist. In all her years the xenobiologist had never made such a dangerous and stupid mistake. At some point in time she had forgotten that not all humans were friends; that some were more of a threat than changelings. They had become an everyday occurrence, something to vent her curiosity on, a creature that when asked a question would respond instead of trying to kill her.
The only thing that kept her hope up was that the few humans she knew in Equestria, she knew very well. They would help finish her study of humans, which had been assigned by Celestia; who still expected Lyra to finish her research. Lyra had to beg to keep the recordings which Celestia had wanted to destroy immediately, but had relented, they still needed more unbiased information on humans and it may have some information on Brent’s source of information or his plans; if his people were there, they may have let something slip. The other thing Lyra had to look forward to was a date, somehow Vinyl had taken it upon herself to notify Bon Bon about their date and Lyra’s homecoming.
“Are you ready Sweetie?” Lyra asked the small white filly.
Sweetie Belle nodded and shook as she headed up the steps to the vertical pool of light. She stopped scant inches away from the portal, which gave off an energy that made any who came near it want to run. But, she took one look at Lyra and proceeded through. As her head and then body passed through, ripples spread out from every point of contact, spreading out to the edges where they just disappeared. The steps were still the movable kind that the humans had used on their first encounter with the seam being where it intersected the portal.
As Sweetie Belle’s rear hoofs entered the field, one proceeded to get stuck in the seam. She started to freak out when she couldn’t dislodge it, stories of the pony that went through twice and died adding to her panic. No sound came back through the portal; the only sound Lyra had of trouble was the thrashing hoof.
Lyra quickly ran up to dislodge it, but it was stuck fast. This close to the portal magic was unreliable, if any part of her magic touched it, the spell would unravel or change into a random spell that ignored all laws of thaumaturgy. With one final yank that moved the steps back the hoof came free and they both tumbled into the white room that was the Equestrian side of the portal.
Lyra looked down at the scared little foal. “How about we go to Sugar Cube Corner before we go to the farm, my treat.” Lyra stated, needing the sugar herself and some time to calm down.
10:30pm Salt Lick Bar, Ponyville
Dew drop, a sky-blue pegasus with matching mane and a circle of water as a cutie mark, sat down on her favorite barstool to enjoy a relaxing drink after a long day. Nothing had gone right, from oversleeping and missing the morning sprinkle of dew, her sector had moved the west bound cloud cover south and left some farms with too much sun for their produce. To top it all off, her favorite joint had become a place for humans to visit. She didn’t have anything against humans; she didn’t understand them and on this night the only creature she even wanted to associate with was the bartender.
“Besides that horrid smell they put off.” Dew grumbled as she wrinkled his nose. Somepony had tried explaining to her once why humans smelled like spoiled milk and why they produced such exorbitant amounts of the odor, but she forgot that quickly after the conversation. She sighed, and looked down the bar for a server. “Double Tap.” Dew requested and raised her hoof to get the barpony’s attention.
Double Tap hurried over to Dew Drop. “What’ll it be?”
Dew Drop had to stop and think. Normally she’d just order whatever concoction was on tap or just a salt lick, but none of that felt right. “Do you have anything new?” She asked, hoping for a new liquor from Hoofington.
“Yeah,” Double said as he pulled out a from under the counter filled with a dark caramel liquid. “It’s called dark rum, a special from Earth.”
Dew looked at the brownish liquid with a skeptical eye. Should I trust it? The weather pony asked herself. But Double’s never led me wrong before. She nodded and Double Tap poured her a shot glass of it. It poured just like any other liquor; the smell wasn’t even that dissimilar to her usual fare.
Dew Drop picked up the small glass with her hoof and took a small sip. It was good if not a bit stronger than she was used to. The pegasus looked back towards the barpony. “What else have you got?”
11:00pm Salt Lick Bar, Ponyville
Avery and Victor were sitting down at a small table in something that could only reasonably be called a bar. The bar pony, Double Tap, had recently brought them their beers and had even given Avery his first beer on the house as thanks for letting him borrow some books. Once word had spread that The Salt Lick had human foods and alcohol, it became a hangout for some of the off-duty marines. Even if they only had beer, whiskey and a few other drinks that were natively from Earth, even if they could eat the local fare.
The food wasn’t too bad either; it was all Earth vegetarian recipes. Meat wasn’t served outside of the embassy, the ponies weren’t big fans of the smell and the Ambassador felt it was better to keep reminders of what humans could eat out of the daily lives of ponies. Avery thought it was a decent facsimile, every once in a while.
The bar was packed with two other tables of humans, all off-duty marines, and 18 ponies scattered about the room. The marines were having a good time drinking, laughing and making a general ruckus. The ponies on the other hand were just enjoying a drink and ignoring the new locals.
Victor took a sip of his beer; the bottle chilled by magic, and started conversing. “Hey,” He began. “I finished the Winter Wrap-Up song for ya.” He grinned, as Avery started to sputter as he took a sip of his own beer.
Avery set the beer down next the two-way radio he had to keep on him in case of emergencies and looked at Victor seriously. “You’ve had too much to drink if you think anybody or anypony is going to want to hear that.” He joked and raised an eyebrow.
“If you prefer we can just talk about whatever bad book you’re reading now.” Victor countered.
“I could just put my boot up your backside.” Avery threatened, nonchalantly taking another sip of beer.
“Point taken.” Victor conceded. “Were you like this at Harvard?”
“Yes.” Avery stated. “Bad books and all.” Neither really talked about their past, but they would bring it up from time to time to taunt each other or cut the tension. “Is there something else you’d like to talk about?”
“Yeah.” Victor smirked and indicated a table behind his friend using his chin. “How about you keep an eye on the marines behind you then.”
“Why?” Avery asked quizzically.
“Take a look.” Victor pointed with his beer.
Avery turned and looked at the table of rowdy marines that were clearly drunk; just in time to see one do something stupid. A somewhat short marine at five foot eight with prematurely grey hair and a cigar in his hand.
“Hey, barkeep!” The marine closest to Avery yelled. “Can we get a steak over here? And not one of those crappy tofu ones either.”
There’s the first shoe. Avery cringed, and tried to get out of his seat before the situation could escalate. It would have to be Rizzo.
An inebriated sky-blue pegasus tried to get off his stool at the bar only to fall off of it. He spread his wings to make the landing a little more graceful, but he still had to get up off his flank. The pegasus looked to the marine and somehow kept from slurring. “What didja say?”
And there’s the other shoe. Avery cursed, quickly grabbing his radio. The situation was already out of hand with humans and ponies both getting off their seats. “This is Avery calling in a code 9. We have a large altercation between humans and ponies at The Salt Lick.”
“Confirmed. Code 9 at The Salt Lick. Back-up is on its way.” A female voice replied on the radio. After a moment of silence the voice came back on. “The Ponyville Guard has been informed and is sending troops as well.”
“Roger.” Avery said. “Call Aiko as well, we could use all the backup we can get.”
“Yes sir.” The voice said one final time before the radio clicked off.
Now all we have to do is keep the damage to a minimum. Calling in the guard was standard procedure, to keep reports of abuse down and so all sides felt included. It was partially the fall-out from the death of Private Chang and to make both sides feel more secure if any kind of altercation did happen. They knew their own people would be there shortly. He called in Aiko because she was the only one that had actual experience yet with hand to hoof combat.
Avery got out of his chair and turned to see Avery still in his.
Victor just sat. “Hey, I didn’t start no fight with no ponies. Best of luck to ya though.” He said and reached for his beer.
The two sides had already started converging. Avery needed to keep the damage between the two sides to a minimum until help could arrive, which meant making himself a target to both. He’d need all the help he could get until back-up arrived. “Victor, get your ass over here.”
4/26/14 Twilight's Study, Earth
Twilight’s study was the cleanest it had been in a long time, with all the books on their proper shelves. There were also a few new shelves with the books Twilight kept procuring, she still couldn’t believe how much information a new species would have access to. Then again, it’s more like dozens of species. They spread farther than ponies and much quicker. She had started reading books on literature and mythology, trying to answer how closely they related to old pony’s tales and Equestrian history.
She sighed as she set a piece of parchment down on a stack of approximately 300 others. “Done.” The exhausted unicorn said. Human/Equestrian Colloquialism and Idioms Volume 1 had finally been finished. She blinked a few time and looked at the small clock by the door. “1am already? I need to get this to the printers quickly.” Talking to herself had become common lately, three weeks working on a single project with few breaks tended to do that to anyone.
She stretched her back and neck, then her legs as she stood. The stacks of papers were levitated in a purple aura. A similar aura surrounded the doorknob, opening the door as Twilight approached. She then went to the hall to a little radio room they used to communicate with Equestria. Human radios were the quickest way to communicate back and forth since any message spell that hit the portal disintegrated and destroyed the letter. Radio waves were the only thing that seem to pass through unfazed and Twilight needed to make sure a pony was on the other side to collect her research for printing or it would just sit there until somepony noticed it.
As the purple unicorn approached the radio though, she could hear a hiss of static being emitted. The only place that used the same frequency was the matching unit in Equestria, there shouldn’t be any problems. She hit the small transmit button and started talking. “This is Twilight Sparkle, is anypony there?”
The only response was a hiss of static so she tried again. “This is Twilight Sparkle, please respond.”
There was still no reply except for static. It’s probably just late. She thought. Or something broke. It should be fine in the morning.
Even though Twilight was sure nothing was wrong, she quickly wrote a letter to her mentor that would delivered in the morning.
Dear Celestia,
Communication with Equestria seems to have been disrupted. It should be nothing but please have some ponies check on it as soon as possible.
Your Faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
She then sealed the letter and used a special spell Celestia had been teaching her, the use of dragon fire, and the scroll disappeared as a purple flame consumed it. The ash then caught on an invisible breeze and traveled to its recipient.
With that finished, Twilight decided to go to bed. A lack of sleep wouldn’t help her to figure out what the problem was. Besides, the guards would keep anything from happening.